Apparatus for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms



May 30, 1950 2,509,392

F. V. HART APPARATUS FOR USE IN APPLYING PRESSURE TO SHOE BOTTOMS FiledOct. 8, 1948 5 Shee ts-Sheet l May 30, 1950 F. v. HART APPARATUS FOR USEIN APPLYING PRESSURE TO SHOE BOTTOMS Filed Oct. 8, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 23 Inventor Fred if Ha 7*2 May 30, 1950 F. v. HART 2,509,392

APPARATUS FOR USE IN APPLYING PRESSURE TO SHOE BOTTOMS Filed Oct. 8,1948 s Sheets-Sheet 5 May 30, 1950 F. v. HART APPARATUS FOR USE INAPPLYINL PRESSURE T0 SHOE BOTTOMS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 8, 1948 32Inventor Eed V Hart ay 30, 1950 F. v. HART 2,509,392

APPARATUS FOR USE IN APPLYING PRESSURE TO SHOE BOTTOMS Filed Oct. a,1948 s Sheets-Sheet 5 32 5 Fred V 1 1 am Patented May 30, 1950 APPARATUSFER USE IN APPLYING PRES- SURE TO SHOE BOTTGMS Fred V. Hart, Lynn, Mass,assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. 3., acorporation of New Jersey Application October 8, 1948, Serial No. 53AM;

Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for applying pressure to shoebottoms, and more particularly to pad boxes for supporting a shoe in thepressure-applying operation. The apparatus finds utility in suchoperations as sole-laying, sole-leveling and cement-sole-attaching. Theinvention is illustrated as embodied in a pad box of the type shown anddescribed in Letters Patent of the United States No. 2,289,360, grantedJuly 14, 1942, on an application filed in my name, although it will beunderstood that in its broader aspects the invention is not thus limitedin its application.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved pad box of thetype in which a shoe bottom-engaging pad is carried by separate membersone of which supports the forepart portion of the pad and another ofwhich supports the shank and heel portions of the pad and in which themembers are individually adjustable in response to pressure applied bythe shoe to accommodate the pad to the contour of the shoe bottom,thereby to impart substantially uniform pressure throughout the area ofthe shoe bottom.

The pad box shown in the aforementioned patent includes a shoe-engagingpad, separate supporting members being provided for the forepart of thepad and for the shank and heel portions of the pad. Each of thesemembers is arranged to rock lengthwise and widthwise of a shoe supported thereon so that the pad may conform generally to the contour ofthe bottom of the shoe to be operated upon. The adjacent edges of thepad-supporting members are normal to the sides of the members andconsequently are not arranged to coincide with the ball line or breakline of a shoe centrally placed on the pad. In other words, with a shoeso placed on the pad the ball line will be oblique to the longitudinalcenter line of the pad whereas the break between the two pad-supportingmembers is normal to the longitudinal center line of the pad. This factis not of any particular consequence when a mans shoe or a womans lowheel shoe is being operated upon but does become of importance whenoperating upon a womans high heel shoe. In such a case theforepart-supporting member must be tipped at quite an angle to the shankand heelsupporting member in order that all portions of the shoe bottomwill be subjected to generally the same pressure during thepressure-applying operation, the angle at which the'iforepart member istipped increasing with the heel height of the shoe. In order to applyuniform pressure throughout the forepartit will be understood that allportions of the forepart forwardly of the break line should engage thatportion of the pad resting on the forepart-supporting member. With theshoe thus placed on the pad, having in mind that the ball line extendsat an oblique angle to the center line of the pad box, it will beapparent that the forepart-supporting member will also underlie a partof the shank portion of the shoe, particularly along the inner margin.Consequently, this part of the shank portion will bridge the anglebetween the forepart and shanksupporting members. The pressure appliedto this portion will not be as great as the pressure applied throughoutthe other portions of the shoe bottom, this condition being aggravatedin direct proportion to the heel height of the shoe.

This difiiculty has been overcome in accordance with a feature of theinvention by forming the adjacent edges of the pad-supporting membersoblique to the longitudinal center lines thereof so that the break orjoint between the members will coincide generally with the ball line ofa shoe to be placed on the pad, whereupon the forepart-supporting memberwill pivot about an axis which is parallel or nearly so with the ballline of the shoe. By so forming the padsupporting members the entirearea of the forepart will rest on that portion of the pad carried by theforepart-supporting member and the entire area of the shank will rest onthat portion of the pad carried by the shank-supporting memher, so thatregardless of the inclination of the forepart-supporting member with theshanksupporting member, all portions of the shoe bottom may receiveadequate support and the pressure distribution throughout the shoebottom will be more uniform than has heretofore been possible with padsof this general construction. This arrangement of the pad-supportingmembers obviates the necessity for providing for tipping movementsthereof laterally of the shoe or about axes running lengthwise of thepad because the forepart-supporting member in swinging about the obliqueaxis will maintain substantially its proper angular relation laterallyof the shoe. If desired, however, at least one of the supporting membersfor the pad may also be mounted for tipping movements laterally of theshoe bottom as in the aforementioned patent thus making it possible tocontrol the relative pressure distribution on the inside and outsidemarginal portions of the shoe in the manner described in theaforementioned patent.

It will be understood that the angular relation between the ball linesof diiierent shoes and a center line drawn through the shank and heelportions will vary in shoes of different styles and hence it isimpossible to form the joint between the supporting members so that itwill exactly coincide with shoes of all styles. However, the breakbetween the supporting members may be made to approximate at least thelocation of the ball line of any shoe to be operated upon, thus makingit possible to obtain a more uniform pressure distribution whenoperating upon high heel shoes than has been heretofore possible withpads of this type.

In order properly to support the forepart-sup porting member during itsadjustment in response to the application of pressure thereto throughthe shoe, transversely extending rolls engage the central portion of theforepart-supporting member, these rolls being manually adjustablelengthwise of the pad and. being adjustable about a vertical axis sothat they may shift about said "axis as they are adjusted lengthwiseproperly to support the forepart supporting member widthwise of the padas the supporting member moves about its oblique axis.

The above and other features of the invention, including various detailsof construction and novel combinations of parts will now be described byreference to the drawings and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation, partly in section, of one form ofpad box embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the pad box;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line IIIIII of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section substantially on the line IVIV of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section substantially on the line V--V of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line VIVI of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 4 illustrating a modification of theinvention, and

Fig. 8 is a section on the line VIII-VIII of Fig. 7.

The invention is illustrated herein as embodied in a pad box for use insole-laying machine of the type illustrated in Letters Patent of theUnited States 1,549,243, granted August 11, 1925, on an applicationfiled in the name of E. E. Winkley. It will be understood, however, thatthe invention is not thus limited in its application but that the padbox illustrated herein may also be used for operations such assole-leveling or cement sole-attaching.

The pad box comprises a main frame or carrier l0 (Figs. 1 and 2) havinglaterally extending trunnions I2 by which it is pivoted for swingingmovement in a sliding frame id of the sole-laying machine. This frame ismounted on vertical rods 16 for movement toward and away from a jacksecured to the upper ends of the rods and provided with shoe supportscomprising a last-engaging member [8 and a toe-engaging roll 20. Theswinging carrier Ill has formed therein a longitudinal guideway 22(Figs. 1, 4 and 6) in which are mounted for sliding movement lengthwiseof the carrier, blocks 24, 26. swivelly sup ported by the block 2Q is acarrier 28 in the upper portion of which are journaled rolls 352. Theblock 26 has journaled in its upper portion a pair of rolls 32 the rolls32 providing supports for a pair of pad-supporting members 3%, 36, thepad-supporting member 34 being arranged to underlie that portion of thepad by which the forepart of the shoe is supported, the shank and heelportions of the pad being supported by the member 36.

The pad-supporting member 34 comprises a supporting plate 38 havingvertical side walls 45 between which is received a block 42 the uppersurface of which is shaped to conform generally to the forepart of ashoe bottom. The supporting member 35 comprises a plate 44 havingvertical side walls 46 between which is supported a block 48 the uppersurface of which is shaped to conform generally to the contour of a shoebottom rearwardly of the ball line. The plates 38, M are supported onthe rolls 3!), 32 respectively for rocking movements about the rollsand, as shown in Fig. 2, the adjacent edges of the padsupporting membersare parallel but are inclined to the longitudinal axes of the supportingmembers so that the break or joint between the members coincidesgenerally with the ball line of a shoe placed on the pad box.

Extending laterally from the side walls 46 of the forepart-supportingmember 34 are lugs 56 which are in the form of sectors of somewhat lessthan a semicircle, the side walls it of the supporting member 36 beingprovided with similarly-shaped lugs 52. The lugs are so arranged thattheir centers of revolution are in alinement with the adjacent ends ofthe supporting members. These lugs extend into vertical guideways 5%(Fig. 3) formed in the opposite side walls of the carrier 58 and theguideways are closed at the top by plates 56 secured in position byscrews. The lugs 50, 52 are normally held with their centers ofrevolution in interengaging relation as shown in Fig. 3 for conjointvertical movement in the guideways 54 in a plane oblique to thelongitudinal central axis of the pad. For this purpose the adjacentfaces of the lugs are cut away at 58 to receive pins 6!! carrying heads62 which engage the upper portions of the lugs. The pins extenddownwardly below the lugs, and washers 64 are held in engagement withthe lower surfaces of the lugs by springs 66 confined between thewashers 64 and washers 68 held in place by nuts 10 threaded onto thelower ends of the pins. From the above, it will be seen that thepad-supporting members are pivoted together about an axis which formsan'angle with the longitudinal axis of the pad box and extends generallyalong the ball line of a, shoe placed centrally on the pad box. However,the pivotal connection between the pad-supporting members is such as topermit limited relative heightwise movement of the adjacent portions ofthe pad supporting members. The pivotal connections between thesupporting members cooperate with the vertical guideways 54 to locatethe pad box lengthwise of the carrier.

The shoe-engaging pad rests directly upon the upper surface of theblocks 42 and 43 and is shown in Fig. 4 to comprise a lower layer ofrubber 12 and an upper layer of leather M, the pad being secured inplace by spring clips 16 adjustably carried by the side walls of thepad-supporting members by screw and slot connections 73.

The blocks 24, 26 by which the rolls 30, 32 are carried are arranged tobe adjusted lengthwise of the swinging carrier ID to control thepressure distribution on the forepart and shank portions of the shoe asdescribed more fully in Patent No. 2,289,360 referred to above. For thispurpose screws 80, 82 are threaded through the blocks 24, 26 and extendthrough bosses 84, 86 (Fig. l) on the carrier [0. Lengthwise movement ofthe screws within the bosses is prevented by collars 86 engageable withthe inner surfaces of the bosses and knurled heads 9!] engageable withthe outer surfaces of the bosses. It will be obvious that upon rotatingeither of the screws by means of its knurled head the respective block24, 26 will be adjusted lengthwise of the carrier l thereby to adjustthe relative positions of the supporting rolls 30 32 and thepad-supporting members. The roll carrier 28 is swivelly mounted in theblock 24 to permit adjustment of the carrier so that the rolls 36 willproperly contact the bottom surface of plate 38 which as shown in Figs.1 and 4 assumes an inclined position during the pressureapplyingoperation. lhis position is assumed because it pivots at an angle withrespect to the pad-supporting member 38. In order to maintain thepad-supporting members in the positions into which they have been moved,after a shoe is removed therefrom, a pair of springs 92 engage the sideWalls 46 of the pad-supporting member 36, these springs being suitablysecured to the carrier I0.

In the operation of the machine the blocks 24, 26 will be adjusted toobtain the desired pressure distribution over the bottom of the shoe. Ashoe is then placed on the pads l2, 14 with its ball line coincidinggenerally with the joint between the pad-supporting members. When thepad box is moved upwardly to carry the shoe into engagement with theshoe supports it, Zil the padsupporting members 34, 36 will swivel aboutthe supporting rolls 3!), 32 the forepart-supporting member 34 pivotingrelatively to the supporting member 35 about the axis formed by the lugs50, 52. Becausepf the axis about which the forepart-supporting memberpivots, which axis corresponds generally to the ball line of the shoe,the forepart-supporting member will assume the correct angular positionwith respect to the other portions of the pad automatically in response1 to the application of pressure irrespective of the heel height of theshoe being operated upon. Furthermore, the forepart-supporting memberwill underlie substantially the entire forepart of the shoe but will notextend rearwardly therebeyond so that uniform pressure distribution isreadily obtained throughout the shoe bottom. It is appreciated that theangular relation between the ball line and the center line of the shoeis not the same for all shoes but by selecting the proper angle betweenthe pad-supporting members a close approximation is possible regardlessof the type or style of shoe to be operated upon.

In Figs. '7 and 8 there is shown a modification in which lateral tippingmovement of the supporting member for the heel portion of the pad ismade possible. Interposed between the padsupporting block 48 and thesupporting plate M therefor is a roll 95 which is supported by a plate95 having a V-shaped recess in its upper surface. The plate 96 isswiveled on the supporting plate 44 by a pivot 98, the rearward end ofthe plate carrying a screw I06 which projects downwardly through, a slotH32 in the plate 44, the plate being clamped in adjusted position bymeans of a wing nut Hi l. A pair of springs 106 are interposed betweenthe block 48 and the supporting plate M, normally to maintain the blockin a central position as shown in Fig. 8. To prevent unintentionaldisplacement of the block 68 heightwise of the pad box the side walls 46carry angular plates H18 which overlie the marginal portions of the pads12, 74.

As described in Patent No. 2,289,360 the roll 94 by which the block 48is supported for lateral tilting movement may be adjusted with itssupporting plate at to control the distribution of pressure laterally ofthe shoe bottom, the block 48 pivoting thereon in response to theapplication of pressure to the shoe so that the predetermined relativepressures on the inside and outside of the shank portions of the shoeare readily obtained. The action of the forepart-supporting member forthe pad is identical to that of the supporting member of Figs. 1 to 6but somewhat better control of the pressure distribution over the shoebottom may be obtained in certain cases by employing the roll 9d betweenthe pad-supporting block 43 and the supporting plate 44.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Apparatus for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms, comprising apad for engaging the shoe bottom, a member for supporting the shank andheel portions of the pad, a separate member for supporting the forepartportion of the pad, and means for hinging said members together about anaxis generally coincident with the ball line of a shoe centrally placedon the pad.

2. Apparatus for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms, comprising apad for engaging a shoe bottom, a member for supporting the shank andheel portions of the pad, a separate member for supporting the forepartportion of the pad, means supporting said members for rocking movementsabout axes extending transversely of the pad, and means hinging saidmembers together about an axis generally coincident with the ball lineof a shoe centrally placed on the pad.

3. Apparatus for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms, comprising apad for engaging a shoe bottom, a member for supporting the shank andheel portions of the pad, a separate member for supporting the forepartportion of the pad, means supporting said members for rocking movementsabout axes extending transversely of the pad, and means hinging saidmembers together about an axis generally coincident with the ball lineof the shoe centrally placed on the pad, said hinging means beingconstructed and arranged to permit relative heightwise movement of theadjacent portions of the supporting members.

4. Apparatus for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms, comprising apad for engaging a shoe bottom, a member for supporting the shank andheel portions of the pad, a separate member for supporting the forepartportion of the pad, means mounting said members for rocking movementsabout axes extending laterally of the pad, and means constraining theadjacent edges of said members for movement in a vertical plane obliqueto the longitudinal center line of the pad.

5. Apparatus for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms, comprising apad for engaging a shoe bottom, a member for supporting the shank andheel portions of the pad, a separate member for supporting the forepartportions of the pad, the adjacent portions of said members meeting alonga line oblique to the longitudinal center line of the pad, meansmounting said members for rocking movements about axes extendinglaterally of the pad, and means constraining the adjacent edges of saidmembers for movement in a vertical plane oblique to the longitudinalcenter line of the pad.

6. Apparatus for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms, comprising apad for engaging a shoe bottom, member arranged to underlie sub- 7stantially the entire forepart of a shoe forwardly from the ball line, amember arranged to underlie substantially the entire shank and heelportions of the shoe rearwardly of the ball line, the adjacent ends ofsaid members being generally parallel with the ball line of a shoe onthe pad, and means mounting said members for rocking movements inresponse to pressure applied thereto by a shoe whereby substantiallyuniform pressure is applied throughout all portions of the shoe bottom.

7. Apparatus for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms, comprising apad for engaging a shoe bottom, a member arranged to underliesubstantially the entire forepart of a shoe forwardly from the ballline, a member arranged to underlie substantially the entire shank andheel portions of the shoe rearwardly of the ball line, means mountingsaid members for rocking movements in response to pressure appliedthereto by a shoe, and means constraining the adjacent portions of saidmembers for movement in a vertical plane substantially parallel with theball line of a shoe on the pad.

8. Apparatus for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms, comprising apad for engaging a shoe bottom, a member for supporting the shank andheel portions of the pad, a separate member for supporting the forepartportion of the pad, rolls supporting said members for rocking movementsabout axes extending transversely of the pad, means for adjusting saidrolls lengthwise of said supporting members, and means constraining theadjacent edges of said members for movement in a vertical plane obliqueto the longitudinal center line of the pad.

9. Apparatus for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms, comprising apad for engaging a shoe bottom, a member for supporting the shank andheel portions of the pad, a separate member for supporting the forepartportion of the pad,

the adjacent portions of said members meeting along a line oblique tothe longitudinal center line of the pad, a roll support for the firstsupporting member, a roll support for the second supporting member, saidroll supports being arranged to support said members for rockingmovements laterally of the pad, means for individually adjusting each ofsaid roll supports lengthwise of the pad, means mounting the rollsupport for the second named supporting memher for swiveling movementabout a vertical and means constraining the adjacent edges of saidmembers for movement in a vertical plane oblique to the longitudinalcenter line of the pad.

10. Apparatus for use in applying pressure to shoe bottoms, comprising apad for engaging a shoe bottom, a member for supporting the shank andheel portions of the pad, a separate member for supporting the forepartportion of the pad, means mounting said members for rocking movementsabout axes extending transversely of the pad, means mounting the firstnamed supporting member for rocking movements about an axis extendinglengthwise of the pad, and means constraining the adjacent edges of saidmembers for movement in a vertical plane oblique to the longitudinalcenter line of the pad.

FRED V. HART.

REFERENCES GK'IEED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Hart July 14, 1942Number

